Jean-Loup Lepan will miss the 2025 Dakar Rally as he continues to recover from serious injuries sustained at the Rallye du Maroc in October. Despite the setback, he feels he is making good progress and is already back to riding a stationary bike.

Lepan was 145 kilometers into Stage #2 when he believes he hit a rock, launching him off his bike and into the ground. In an interview with Courrier picard, he admitted he “thought I was going to die” at that moment as he lied on the gravel with no help in sight. He eventually passed out before coming back to his senses when he heard the helicopter arrive to airlift him back to France.

He suffered a hemopneumothorax—an ailment in which air and blood floods the pleural space cavity between the chest and lungs—along with fractures to ten of his ribs, pelvis, four thoracic vertebrae and a lumbar vertebra; a punctured lung because of one of said ribs; and losing 2.5 liters of blood. After eight days in intensive care, he was discharged and subsequently cleared to walk again with a brace.

Earlier in December, Lepan underwent surgery to repair his shoulder. Despite being told by doctors that his career might be over, his improving state has given him hope that he could get back in shape and race again. Following up with Courrier picard, the Frenchman called it a “small stop in my career, like a pit stop, but the important thing now is to get back up.” If things progress well, he envisions being good to go for racing by June.

Lepan finished the 2024 W2RC fourth in Rally2 points with a best performing of second at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge.

Featured image credit: Edoardo Bauer / Rally Zone